


Looking Up For Heaven

by ladybug114



Category: Bastille (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Friends to Lovers, Gen, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, but for now it's just dan and kyle, the other two might show up at some point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-18 16:49:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18253913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladybug114/pseuds/ladybug114
Summary: “It’s no problem,” Kyle said, waving off the thanks. “Oh, um, I’m Kyle, by the way,” he added as an afterthought, realizing that he should at least know the guy’s name before inviting him into his flat.The guy laughed. “Oh, god, you probably think I’m a creep, asking to use your shower without even giving you my name. I’m Dan, good to meet you.”Dan. Finally, a name to go with the gorgeous face Kyle had definitely not been dreaming about for months. “Good to meet you too, Dan,” he said, unable to stop a grin from splitting his face.~Kyle is lonely and bored all the time, practically wasting away in an office job.Then his insanely attractive neighbor needs to borrow his shower, and the resulting friendship might change Kyle's life forever.





	Looking Up For Heaven

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been working on this fic for... around 3 years probably? I keep losing inspiration for it, and then writing a bit, and then losing it again, etc etc etc.  
> Anyway, it's still not done (and I have no idea how much is left in it), but I'm hoping that posting the first piece will motivate me to write more!  
> Also, this is a (one day late) birthday present for my super awesome friend Natalie, who introduced me to Bastille and, later, to Dyle. Happy birthday, hopefully I'll actually finish this some day!  
> Title is obviously taken from "Glory," and I recommend listening to/watching the Capitol Studios version of that song with this fic!!
> 
> (as usual, this is a work of fiction, don't share with the band, etc)

Kyle really,  _ really, _ hated living alone. Everyone had always told him that someday he’d have his dream job, be making tons of friends, maybe getting in a relationship or two, but absolutely none of that had happened to him. He was stuck at a horrible desk job where no one ever spoke to him during the day, and then at night he’d make his way back to his flat.

Alone.

Sometimes he went to a club on the weekend, just to try his luck, but nothing ever came of it.  _ Casual _ wasn’t really his thing, so picking someone up at a club and then never seeing them again? Yeah, Kyle wasn’t into that.

He was, however,  _ very _ into the guy who lived across the hall from him. They had never spoken to each other beyond a “hello” if they ended up in the hallway at the same time, but he was  _ gorgeous _ . Little bit of a weird haircut, but still. 

But Kyle knew that he would never get up the courage to speak to the guy, and he wasn’t much of a catch himself, so he just settled for daydreams. 

This night was shaping up to be identical to every other night in Kyle’s lonely, miserable life. He sat on the couch, eating a bowl of mac-and-cheese and staring at the TV without watching it. The news was on, or maybe it was a talk show. 

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

Flailing in surprise, Kyle managed to grab the bowl before it tumbled from his lap onto the floor. “Coming!” he shouted, leaping to his feet. Who could be at his door? He didn’t have any friends, after all. Maybe the landlord, but Kyle couldn’t think of anything he had done to deserve a visit from him. Reaching the door, Kyle pushed it open.

And stopped breathing.

“Hey,” said his attractive neighbor with a blinding smile. “Uh, sorry to bother you…”

“What? Um, I mean, it’s fine, you didn’t, I wasn’t really…” Kyle took a deep breath, trying not to totally embarrass himself. “Uh, what do you need?”

The guy’s smile turned sheepish, and he ran a hand through his hair. “Well, my water isn’t working in my apartment, and I was just… wondering if I could maybe use your shower?” he asked, obviously uncertain.

Kyle was in shock. He had been long-distance crushing on his neighbor for  _ months _ , and now he shows up out of the blue asking to use his shower? “Y-yeah,” Kyle stuttered, suddenly acutely aware of his bright yellow cat t-shirt and sweatpants. “Of course, yeah.”

“Awesome,” his neighbor responded, exhaling. “Thank you so much, mate, really.”

“It’s no problem,” Kyle said, waving off the thanks. “Oh, um, I’m Kyle, by the way,” he added as an afterthought, realizing that he should at least know the guy’s name before inviting him into his flat.

The guy laughed. “Oh, god, you probably think I’m a creep, asking to use your shower without even giving you my name. I’m Dan, good to meet you.”

_ Dan. _ Finally, a name to go with the gorgeous face Kyle had definitely not been dreaming about for months. “Good to meet you too, Dan,” he said, unable to stop a grin from splitting his face.

Dan grinned back for a moment, then coughed awkwardly. “Right, well, I'm gonna go get my stuff,” he said, pointing behind him towards his apartment.

“Yeah, yeah, course,” Kyle answered, mentally kicking himself. “Yeah, I'll be here, so just knock whenever you're ready.”

Giving Kyle a thumbs up, Dan turned around and walked toward his apartment, closing the door behind him.

Still in shock, Kyle staggered back to the couch and collapsed onto it. Maybe this could be his chance. Maybe now he’d get up the courage to actually have a conversation with Dan when they passed in the hallway. Maybe they’d become friends. Maybe Dan liked guys too, and maybe Dan would like Kyle, and maybe…

Kyle sighed, letting his head fall into his hands.  _ Yeah, right _ , he thought, stopping his brain before it ran too far ahead of him. He was just being a good person, helping his neighbor out. Dan would probably never speak to him again after this, and that was fine. Totally fine.

A knock on the door pulled Kyle out of his thoughts, and he pulled himself to his feet and went to open the door for Dan. 

“Thanks again for this, mate,” Dan said, standing in the doorway, fidgeting a bit. “I’ve got a date tonight, so it was kind of a crisis when I realized my shower wasn’t working.”

“Yeah, again, it’s no problem,” Kyle said, stepping aside to let Dan into the flat. Internally, though, he was screaming. 

A date. Dan needed to borrow his shower so he could get ready for a date. God, why was he such an idiot? Of  _ course _ Dan had a significant other, he was deathly gorgeous. He probably had a hundred girls and guys just lining up, waiting for their opportunity. Why had he thought for even a  _ second _ that Dan might like him too?

_ Stupid, stupid, stupid. _

“Um, bathroom’s just down that hallway, first door on your left,” Kyle said, realizing that Dan was looking at him. 

“Right,” Dan nodded, and there was a look in his eyes that Kyle couldn’t interpret. After only a second, though, the expression was gone, and Dan turned around and walked into the bathroom, pulling the door shut.

Kyle stood frozen for a moment, staring at the closed door, and then shook his head to clear it. “Get a hold of yourself,” he muttered, moving back to the couch to wait for Dan to finish in the shower. He needed to let go of this stupid crush  _ immediately _ , or things were just going to get worse. 

Dan was going on a date. Dan was probably straight. Dan would probably never talk to him again. Dan only spoke to him because he need to use the shower.

_ Oh, god, Dan was currently naked in his apartment. _

“Stop that, you idiot,” Kyle whispered, wanting to kick himself. He was just being a good neighbor, and good neighbors did  _ not _ think about people they had just met taking a shower in their apartment. Definitely not. Taking a deep breath, Kyle started flipping through channels, trying to find something that would distract him from his stupid brain.

Fifteen minutes of mindless channel surfing later, the bathroom door opened. Kyle glanced back and, once again, felt his heart stop.

Dan was in a towel.  _ Only _ a towel.

“Uh, sorry,” Dan said, grinning. “Guess I didn’t really think this through, huh? Should’ve brought my clean clothes with me.”

The universe must hate him. That was the only explanation, right? He had done something terrible in a past life, and now the universe was punishing him with ridiculously attractive guys who would never like him. Great.

“It’s fine,” Kyle replied, trying desperately not to let anything show on his face. His cheeks felt hot, though, so he was pretty sure he was blushing.

“I should, uh, really get going,” Dan said, running a hand through his hair. “Thanks again for this mate, really.”

“As I have now said about a thousand times, it’s fine,” Kyle said, smiling, trying desperately to keep his eyes focused on Dan’s face.  _ Don’t be a creep, Kyle _ , he thought.

Dan grinned back, hopefully not noticing Kyle’s inner turmoil. “Well, see you around, yeah?” he asked, starting to head toward the door.

“Yeah, probably,” Kyle agreed, giving Dan a wave and watching him walk out the door.

He was completely and totally fucked.

~~

Four hours later, Kyle was in the exact same spot on the couch when someone knocked on the door again. This time, though, it was more like pounding.

“What the fuck,” he muttered, pushing himself up and walking to the door. When the pounding continued, he shouted, “I’m coming, alright? Can’t you just calm down for a second and…” He pushed open the door, and there was Dan. “Um, Dan?”

“Kyle!” Dan shouted, throwing his arms into the air. 

“Yes, that’s me,” Kyle responded, eyeing Dan carefully. He was clearly very drunk, and his eyes looked blood-shot. “Are you okay?”

Dan let his arms fall to his sides, pouting. “I can’t get my door open. Can you help me, pleeaaase?”

Kyle rolled his eyes. “God, Dan, how much did you have to drink?”

“Hey,” Dan said, pointing a finger at Kyle, “the guy was a  _ jerk _ . I  _ needed _ to drink.”

Something fluttered in Kyle’s chest, but he pushed the feeling away. Right now, Dan just needed someone to help him. “Alright,” he said with a sigh, “Where’s your key?”

Dan frowned, his face scrunching up in concentration. “Ummm… I think it’s still on the floor,” he said finally, turning around and taking a stumbling step towards his door.

“Woah, hey, careful,” Kyle said, reaching out a hand to steady Dan if he needed it. “Why don’t you let me grab it? I don’t want you passing out or anything.”

“Probably a… um…” Dan blinked, leaning against the wall next to his door. “Probably a good idea.”

Kyle found the key on the floor, thankfully right in front of the door, and knelt down to pick it up. After pushing himself to his feet, he asked carefully, “So, I’m guessing the date didn’t go as well as you hoped?”

Dan groaned, shutting his eyes and leaning his head back. “I don’t wanna talk about it,” he mumbled.

“Right,” Kyle sighed, “I sort of expected that.” After taking a moment to make sure Dan wasn’t going to fall over or anything, he unlocked the door and pushed it open. “Alright, Dan, let’s go,” he said, turning back to face him.

“Noooo,” Dan groaned, his eyes still closed. “I don’t wanna mooove.”

“Come on,” Kyle insisted, putting a hand on Dan’s shoulder. “You can’t sleep in the hallway. And trust me, you’ll feel way better in the morning if you actually sleep in your bed.”

“Do you have a lot of experience with this?” Dan answered, opening his eyes and grinning at Kyle.

Kyle just rolled his eyes and guided Dan through the door into his apartment. “Which way is your room?”

Dan pointed vaguely forward. “Over there,” he said, moving slowly and unsteadily enough that Kyle decided to keep his hand on his shoulder.

“Come on, mate, just a few more feet,” Kyle said, trying to keep Dan moving. “Then you can lie down and get some sleep, alright?”

Dan nodded, but didn’t reply. It looked like he might fall over any moment.

Finally, they made it into Dan’s bedroom. Dan immediately collapsed onto the bed, his eyes already sliding shut. “Dan. Shoes,” Kyle said, rolling his eyes.

Dan mumbled something incoherent, but didn’t move. 

Kyle stood frozen for a moment, and then sighed and walked over to the bed. “You’re gonna owe me after today,” he muttered, and then he pulled Dan’s shoes off and put them on the floor next to the bed. While Dan remained mostly unresponsive, Kyle took the opportunity to look around. There wasn’t much, a few posters on the wall, a messy desk covered in papers, and… “Hey, is that a piano? Do you play?” Kyle asked, looking over at Dan.

“Mmhmm,” Dan mumbled, his eyes opening. “D’you?”

Kyle blinked. “Uh, yeah. I haven’t played in a couple of years, but yeah.”

Dan smiled, and then his eyes slid shut and he was asleep.

“Right,” Kyle said, rolling his eyes. “Goodnight, I guess.” He turned toward the door, ready to head back to his own apartment, but then he stopped. After a moment of hesitation, he grabbed a piece of paper and pen from Dan’s desk, scribbled a note, and left it on the dresser. And then he hurried back to his own place, preparing himself for a long and sleepless night.

~~

_ Dan, _

_ You should come by my place at some point tomorrow, just so that I know you’re not dead. It’s a Saturday, so I should be around all day. _

_ -Kyle _

_ P.S: I probably won’t wake up until noon, but you probably won’t either, so that’s not really a problem I guess _

~~

As expected, Kyle woke up around one o’clock in the afternoon the next day, somehow feeling like he had only gotten three hours of sleep instead of eleven. He didn’t really remember what his dreams had been about, but he was pretty sure that Dan had been involved.

“Totally normal to dream about someone you only met yesterday, Kyle,” he muttered, making a pot of coffee to try to wake himself up a bit more. He was also now regretting the note he had written the day before, and kind of hoped that Dan would just ignore it. What had he been thinking, writing that? Dan probably didn’t even remember what had happened, and would be totally freaked out seeing a note in his  _ bedroom. _

He probably wouldn’t come over, and that would be a good thing. Kyle didn’t really think he could embarrass himself further, but he also didn’t want to find out.

An hour later, Kyle was sitting on the couch in his boxers eating some crisps when someone knocked on the door. “Shit,” Kyle whispered, his eyes widening. “Um, one second!” he called, dashing into his room to put some clothes on. After yanking some sweatpants and a t-shirt out of his dresser and pulling them on, Kyle skidded into the hallway and opened the door, trying not to seem out of breath. 

Unsurprisingly, it was Dan at the door. “Uh, hey,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I, uh, you said I should come over?”

“Yes!” Kyle shouted, much too enthusiastically, and winced. “Um, yes. If you wanted to. Uh, how are you feeling?”  _ Stupid, stupid, stupid. _

Dan smiled, and Kyle had a horrible feeling that he knew  _ exactly _ what was going on. “I’m better than last night,” he said, still smiling that perfect smile. “A little hungover, but not really. Thanks.”

“Thanks?” Kyle repeated, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Dan said, nodding. “For last night? You helped me get into my apartment and made sure that I got in bed?”

Kyle felt his face heating up, but he answered, “Uh, yeah. You’re welcome, I guess, but most people would have done the same thing.” Dan just grinned, and Kyle shifted back and forth for a moment. “Do you wanna come in?” he finally blurted out.

Dan laughed. “I was starting to think you’d never ask.”

_ He definitely knows _ , Kyle thought, stepping back to let Dan into the apartment.  _ I’m being so obvious, there’s no way he doesn’t know _ . “Just, y’know, make yourself at home,” Kyle said, gesturing toward the couch. “I was about to make some more coffee, you want any?”

“Sounds great, yeah,” Dan answered with a smile, making his way to the couch and sitting down. 

While Kyle started getting the coffee ready, he watched Dan. He was looking around the apartment, taking everything in, just like Kyle had been doing the night before. In that moment, Kyle was struck by how little he actually  _ knew _ Dan. “So, what do you do for work?” he asked, filling two mugs and heading over to join Dan on the couch.

“I’m a teacher, actually,” Dan answered, with a smile, taking one of the mugs in both hands. 

“Really?” Kyle asked, sitting down on the couch next to him with the other mug, close but not too close. “What do you teach?”

“English. Secondary school.” He rolled his eyes. “Let me tell you, reading the essays of 16-year-olds who would do  _ anything _ rather than write a paper is an adventure.”

Kyle grinned, remembering the piles of papers on Dan’s desk. “Sounds like a blast,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Enough fun that it leaves you wanting to get drunk and pound on your neighbor’s door on the weekend, right?”

“Oh, god,” Dan groaned, setting his coffee down and putting his head in his hands. “I’m so sorry about that, I don’t know  _ what _ was going through my head at that time, I barely remember it anyway, and…”

“Mate, calm down,” Kyle said, laughing. “I’m just messing with you, seriously, it’s fine.”

Dan looked up, his eyes hopeful. “You sure? I know that yesterday was kind of a weird way for us to actually meet for the first time, so…” He looked away, and… was he blushing? “I’ll admit, I thought you would hate me, especially after last night, so I was pretty happy to see your note.”

“Wait, you were?” Kyle asked, his eyes widening. “Here I was, worried that you would think I was a creep or something, writing a note and leaving it in your fucking bedroom.”

“Good, glad to hear that we’re both total weirdos,” Dan said, looking up again and grinning his stupid,  _ perfect _ smile.

“Um,” Kyle started, the butterflies in his stomach from Dan’s smile making him feel awkward again, “If you don’t mind me asking, what happened last night?”

Dan sighed, pulling his legs up onto the couch so that he was facing Kyle. “I had a date and it didn’t go well,” he said, eyeing Kyle with some hesitation.

Kyle just drank some of his coffee, waiting to see if Dan was going to tell him anything else.

Dan sighed again. “It was a blind date, I had never met him before, and…”

“Wait,” Kyle said, feeling bad for interrupting but needing to know, “him?”

“Yeah,” Dan said, something like fear in his eyes. “Yeah, I’m, um, I’m gay. Is that… I mean, is that a problem for you?”

Kyle smiled, trying to look as reassuring as possible. “Well, I’m bisexual, so no, that’s not a problem.”

Dan smiled back, his face relaxing. “Right,” he continued, “Well, my friend set me up with this guy, told me he thought we would ‘get along great,’ but that isn’t exactly what happened.”

“Last night you called him a jerk,” Kyle said hesitantly, watching Dan’s face for a reaction. “What did he do?”

Dan shrugged, and Kyle could tell he was trying to act like it wasn’t a big deal. “He was just really pretentious,” he said after a moment. “Only wanted to talk about himself, laughed at me when I told him I was a teacher, laughed harder when I told him I wanted to…” Dan stopped abruptly. “Um. Never mind.”

“Told him you wanted to what?” Kyle asked, lifting his legs and putting his feet on the couch, almost touching Dan’s. They were facing each other completely now, and Kyle’s heart was racing.

“Well, you saw the piano in my room last night, right?” Dan asked, avoiding eye contact but glancing up in time to see Kyle nod. “Well, it’s kind of always been a dream of mine to be a musician. Form a band, write some songs, perform them, that kind of stuff.”

Kyle’s face lit up. “That’s wicked!” he said, grinning when Dan looked up in surprise. “Seriously, mate, that’s awesome.”

“Most people tell me that it’s a ridiculous pipe dream and I just need to give it up,” he said with a shrug, “Including my lovely date last night.”

“Nah,” Kyle respond easily, waving a hand in the air. “I mean, really, if everyone just gave up when they heard things like that, nobody would ever do anything. It’s cheesy as fuck, but,” he grinned, “you just gotta believe in yourself.”

Dan laughed. “Thanks for that.”

“No, I’m serious!” Kyle insisted, pointing at Dan. “You can do it. I can tell you really want to, so you definitely can. Have you written any of your own stuff yet?”

“Sort of,” he answered, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean, I’ve written a song or two, but I’m not very happy with them. I know I can do it, it just… something is missing, you know?”

Kyle nodded, but he didn’t, really. He could imagine what Dan was feeling, but he had never tried to do something like  _ write music _ before, so he couldn’t know exactly what was going on in Dan’s head. “Maybe you need more people,” he said after thinking for a moment. “Start forming your band, maybe that will help you. And maybe that’s what’s missing.”

“Yeah, I have a couple mates who play instruments, but I’ve just been putting off asking them to help me out.” Dan smiled ruefully. “I guess I’m just scared they’ll say no.”

“And what will happen if they do?” Kyle asked, throwing his hands in the air. “Come on, Dan, you gotta take some risks or nothing is ever going to happen in your life.”

Dan leaned forward. “What about you, then?” he asked. “What do you do, what do you want to do?”

“Nothing,” Kyle responded, looking away. “I don’t… do anything.” He sighed, forcing his gaze to meet Dan’s worried, sympathetic one. “I have the most bullshit boring office job on the planet, and I’ve got no fucking clue what I want to do.”

“There’s gotta be something,” Dan insisted, still leaning forward.

“There’s nothing, okay?” Kyle shouted, and Dan leaned back abruptly, his eyes widening. “Shit,” Kyle whispered, instantly feeling terrible. “Shit, Dan, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to shout like that.”

Dan shook his head quickly. “No, you don’t need to be sorry,” he said. “Seriously, I was just… surprised. And anyway, I think--”

Suddenly, music started playing.

Dan’s eyes widened and his cheeks started to flush as he frantically tried to get his phone out of his pocket.

Kyle’s mouth fell open. “Is that… is that Rihanna?” he asked, starting to laugh. “Holy shit, your ringtone is S&M?”

“Shut up,” Dan muttered, blushing furiously, and finally answered the phone. “Will, I swear to god, this better be important.”

Kyle laughed at Dan’s obvious embarrassment, deciding to wait and tell him about his Rihanna obsession another day. Grabbing his coffee, Kyle settled back into the couch to watch Dan until he got off the phone.

“No, as a matter of fact, it did not go well,” Dan said into the phone, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, you’re a great judge of character, the guy was an asshole. Remind me to never let you set me up again, okay?” He paused, listening, and then frowned. “Well, I’m not  _ really _ doing anything, but…” Dan glanced, at Kyle, an obvious question in his eyes.

_ Go ahead _ , Kyle mouthed, waving a hand at Dan.

Dan smiled gratefully at him, and then turned his attention back to the phone. “Yeah, alright, I’ll be there soon, so just calm down. Oh, and there was something I wanted to talk to you guys about anyway, so don’t let me forget that… Okay. See you.” Dan hung up with a sigh, turning to Kyle. “I’m really sorry about this, mate, but one of my friends is having a bit of a crisis.”

“It’s fine,” Kyle said with a smile, waving him off. “Seriously, I’ve probably kept you here way longer than you wanted to be here anyway, so--”

“You didn’t,” Dan said quickly, cutting him off. “Um. You didn’t keep me here longer than I wanted to be here.”

“I didn’t… oh,” Kyle said, staring at Dan. Was Dan really saying what he thought he was saying?

Dan’s face was still red, and Kyle didn’t know if it was because of the ringtone or something else entirely. “I should be going,” he said finally, swinging his feet onto the floor and pushing himself to his feet.

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Kyle agreed, also getting up. “Um, thanks for coming.”

Dan grinned. “I’ll see you later, Kyle,” he said, and then turned around and walked out the door.

“See you later,” Kyle whispered, mostly to himself, staring at the door. 

What the hell had happened to his life?

~~

After that night, Kyle didn’t see Dan for a week. He knew that they both had work, that they were both probably busy, but Dan had said  _ see you later _ . That had to mean he wanted to hang out again… right?

On Friday, one week after Dan had used his shower, Kyle came home from work to find a note taped to his door.

_ Kyle- _

_ I feel bad that I haven’t seen you all week, and I still need to repay you for last Friday night, so… I don’t know what time you get home from work, but I’m making dinner around 7 and you’re welcome to join me if you’re home by then. Even if you’re not, you can still come over! I’ll be around all night. _

_ -Dan _

Kyle pulled the note off, his hand shaking. Was Dan… was Dan asking him out?  _ Even if he does ask me out _ , Kyle thought,  _ which he won’t, it won’t be like this _ . Dan definitely didn’t seem like the kind of person who would ask someone out via sticky note, and he definitely  _ did _ seem like the kind of person who would invite someone that he had met twice to dinner.

Pushing the door open and stepping into his apartment, Kyle glanced at the clock. It was only 6:15, which meant that he had time to make himself look like less of a slob before going over to Dan’s. 

First, though… Was he actually going to go? Sure, it probably wasn’t actually a date, but it definitely  _ felt _ like one, and as much as Kyle liked Dan, he wasn’t sure if he was ready for that. But what was the alternative? If he ignored the invitation completely, Dan would assume that he didn’t even want to be friends, and they would probably never talk to each other again.

He would go, then, but he would keep it as casual as possible. No matter what had happened the week before, Kyle didn’t want to get his hopes up. 

Kyle glanced at the clock again. He had time to take a shower and change out of his work clothes, and then he would head over to Dan’s apartment. Being a little early was probably a good thing… right?

At 6:45, Kyle stood outside Dan’s door, fidgeting with the hem of his t-shirt. They had had good conversations the week before, but having dinner together was different. Before he had time to convince himself to leave, Kyle reached up and knocked on the door.

“Coming!” Dan shouted from inside the house, and Kyle could feel himself smiling. A moment later, the door opened. “You saw my note,” Dan said, grinning. 

“How could I have missed it?” Kyle responded, grinning right back. “It was literally stuck to my door.”

“Yeah, well,” Dan shrugged, “It worked, right?” Kyle just laughed, and Dan continued, “Come on in! I was just about to start eating, so you’re right on time.”

Dan stepped to the side, pushing the door open, and Kyle followed him into the apartment. 

“I hope you like spaghetti,” Dan said, leading Kyle into the kitchen. “I’m a pretty terrible cook, but that’s something that I can actually make.”

“It smells great,” Kyle said, grinning, because it did. He was starving after a long day at work, and just knowing that Dan had decided to cook something for him left a warm feeling in his chest.

“You can just have a seat,” Dan said, gesturing towards a small table in the next room. “The food is almost ready, I’ll get you a plate in a minute.”

Kyle hesitated, and asked, “Can I help with anything? I feel bad just walking in and eating your food without helping with anything.”

Dan waved him off. “Nah, mate, it’s all good. Just go sit down, seriously. I’ll be out soon.”

“So, busy week?” Kyle asked, making his way into the next room and sitting down. He still felt bad about not helping, but he was pretty sure that Dan wasn’t going to change his mind.

Dan sighed. “You could say that,” he said, stirring something on the stove. “I was an idiot and decided to assign papers in three of my classes, all due during the same week, so I’ve been grading and holding conferences every day.”

“Just don’t assign any work at all!” Kyle exclaimed with a grin, throwing his hands into the air.

“I wish,” Dan replied, laughing. “Probably wouldn’t keep my job for very long if I did that, though. Pasta’s ready,” he added, opening one of the cabinets in the kitchen. “You want anything to drink?”

“Uh, just water, I guess,” Kyle answered, feeling his earlier awkwardness come back in full force. “Seriously, Dan, I can help or--”

Dan waved a hand in his direction, cutting him off. “Seriously, Kyle, you’re good. You’re a guest in  _ my _ apartment, remember? I’m paying you back for helping me last week.”

“Okay, fine, but you don’t need to pay me back for anything.”

“But I want to,” Dan insisted, smiling. 

Kyle’s heart beat a little faster, like it always did when Dan smiled at him, and he managed to smile back. 

“Bon appetit!” Dan announced after a moment, carrying two plates and setting them at the table. “Pretty basic, but hey, it’s food.”

As they ate, conversation flowed more easily than Kyle expected. Dan told stories of his most rambunctious students, Kyle complained about his coworkers, they talked about TV shows and movies they had both seen, music they both liked.

On that topic, Kyle was suddenly reminded of Dan’s own experiments with music, something he had been thinking about since their first real conversation. “You should play me something,” he said suddenly, during a brief lull in conversation

Dan blinked in surprise. “What?” he asked.

“You’re working on some songs, you have a piano in your room, you should play me something,” Kyle said with a shrug. “I want to hear what kind of music you write.”

“Okay,” Dan said, but his eyes were wary. “Follow me, I guess.” He stood up from the table, heading toward his bedroom, and Kyle followed him slowly.

“You don’t have to,” Kyle said as they reached Dan’s bedroom, realizing that Dan might not be comfortable with this. “I would love to hear something, but if you don’t want to, then--”

“No,” Dan said quickly, shaking his head. “No, I want to. I’m just not used to actually playing in front of people, so cut me some slack, yeah?”

Kyle grinned. “No way, mate, I’m expecting perfection here.”

Dan laughed, pushing open the door to his bedroom. “Sorry about the mess, I’ve got those essays to grade this weekend, so there’s kind of paper everywhere.” 

“Yeah, I can see that,” Kyle responded, staring at the stacks of paper all over Dan’s room. There was paper on his desk, of course, but there were also stacks on bookshelves, on the floor, and even on the piano. “Why don’t you have your students just e-mail you stuff?” he asked.

Dan snorted. “And grade them electronically? No thanks. There’s nothing like attacking a sheet of paper with a red pen. You can move some papers and have a seat anywhere, if you want,” he said, taking papers off the piano and adding them to one of the stacks on the floor.

“Nah, I’m good,” Kyle answered, moving over to stand behind Dan at the piano.

Dan just shrugged, sitting down on the piano bench and laying his hands on the keys. “Right, so, this one is pretty new, so all I’ve got is a melody right now. I think it’s going to be the chorus, but I’m not sure.” He looked up at Kyle, who just smiled, and then turned his attention back to the piano and started to play.

Kyle took a step forward, standing over Dan’s right shoulder, watching his fingers dance across the keys. The melody was slow and quiet, almost haunting in its beauty. 

After only a minute or two, Dan finished playing. “Well?” he asked, looking up at Kyle, his voice quiet and cautious.

“Play it again,” Kyle said simply.

Dan narrowed his eyes in confusion, but then nodded and started the melody over again.

Kyle slid onto the tiny piano bench next to Dan, their thighs pressing together. Dan’s playing faltered, but only for a moment, and then the music continued. Slowly, carefully, Kyle joined him. Just quiet chords at first, but as Dan started the melody for a third time, he experimented until he found a countermelody that fit.

“Wow,” Dan said after they played the final chord, looking over at Kyle, his eyes shining. “I remembered that you said you could play, but wow.”

Kyle laughed. “I honestly wasn’t sure if I could still play, since it’s been a couple years, but it all kind of came back to me as soon as you started.”

“Think you could write down that countermelody?” Dan asked, grinning. “If this song ever turns into anything, I’m definitely going to want to use that.”

“Um, probably not,” Kyle said hesitantly. “I don’t, uh, actually know how to read music.”

Dan nodded in understanding. “Well then you’ll just have to join my band so you can play it yourself,” he said.

Kyle rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right,” he said, getting ready to stand up.

“Why not?” Dan asked, stopping him.

“I just… I don’t think being in a band is the thing for me.”

“Why not?” Dan asked again, looking at him intently.

Kyle found himself squirming in his seat under Dan’s gaze. “I don’t… I don’t really know, I guess.”

Dan smiled, his gaze softening. “Well, you could come to one of our practices, at least. It’s a really new thing, we’ve only met a couple of times. You don’t even have to play if you don’t want to!”

“Wouldn’t that be weird though?” Kyle asked, not meeting Dan’s gaze. “You guys are already friends, you’ve got a thing going on, I wouldn’t want to intrude or anything…”

“We’re friends too,” Dan said simply, still looking at him.

Feeling strangely uncomfortable at that, Kyle stood up, moving away from the piano and towards the door. “Uh, really, thanks for the offer, but… no. Sorry. Um,” he added, rubbing the back of his neck, “I should… I should probably get going. Thanks for dinner and, um, all of that.”

“I’m sorry,” Dan said, standing up but not moving any closer, something unreadable in his expression. “I didn’t mean to pressure you or anything, really.”

“Yeah,” Kyle said, barely listening to what Dan was saying. His hands were shaking, but he didn’t quite know why. “I’ll, uh, I’ll see you around.” With that, Kyle turned around and walked out the door, trying to ignore Dan’s agonized expression behind him.

~~

When Kyle woke up the next morning, he felt like an asshole. He had gone straight to bed the night before, not really caring how early it actually was. He didn’t even know why he had reacted the way he had, why he had pushed Dan away like that. Was it because he didn’t really think of Dan as a friend?

“I gotta fix this,” Kyle muttered to himself, pulling on some clothes and walking over to Dan’s apartment. He stood frozen in front of the door for almost five minutes before he finally raised a hand and knocked. 

“Coming,” came Dan’s voice from inside the apartment, sounding vaguely flustered. A few seconds later, the door opened. “Oh,” Dan said, his expression becoming more guarded. “Um, hi, Kyle.”

“Hi,” Kyle said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Are you busy?”

“I was grading papers,” Dan answered, “but that can wait if it has to. Did you need something?”

Kyle sighed, trying to avoid eye contact. He had only known Dan for a week, but he already felt like they had known each other for years, and he didn’t want to ruin that with his stupidity and fear of commitment. He had to fix this. “I just… Can we talk?”

“Yeah,” Dan nodded, but he wasn’t smiling. “Yeah, come in.”

“Thanks,” Kyle muttered, following Dan into the apartment. “Look, Dan, I’m really really sorry about--”

“Please,” Dan interrupted, holding up a hand. “Please let me talk first.”

Kyle froze, suddenly terrified. What if Dan said that he never wanted to see him again? What if he ended their friendship before it really had time to start? Completely unable to form words, Kyle just nodded silently, bracing himself for the worst.

Dan sighed, running a hand through his hair, leaving it even messier and spikier than usual. “All last night, I couldn’t stop thinking about what I might have done wrong. You might not believe me right now, but you’re my  _ friend _ , Kyle. I really like talking to you and spending time with you, and I’m stupidly glad that my shower broke two weeks ago.” For the first time that afternoon, Dan smiled. “You make me laugh, you make my brain slow down, something that pretty much never happens. So when you started playing last night, it just… made sense to ask you to join the band. I didn’t stop to think that maybe it would make you uncomfortable, and I’m sorry. I won’t bring it up again.” Taking a deep breath after that speech, Dan finished, “Now you can talk.”

Kyle knew he was staring. He had expected Dan to yell at him, to tell him to leave him alone, not… that. “I thought you wouldn’t want to be friends anymore,” he admitted quietly, avoiding Dan’s gaze. “I already thought of you as my friend, but it kind of, I don’t know, threw me off to hear you say it too?” He sighed, looking up and trying to smile. “But hey, maybe I’ll get used to it someday.”

To his surprise, Dan was smiling back. “I know I said I wouldn’t ask you to join the band again, but maybe you could come to one of our practices? I know Woody and Will want to meet you.”

Kyle groaned half-heartedly. “Please don’t say you’ve told your friends about me,” he mumbled.

“Maybe just a little bit,” Dan answered, still grinning. “Please?”

“Someday,” Kyle relented, letting himself smile back.

Much to Kyle’s surprise, Dan pulled him into a hug. Kyle stiffened slightly at the unexpected contact, but then let himself relax and hug Dan back. 

“Sorry,” Dan said, stepping away with a slightly sheepish smile, “I’m a bit of a touchy person.”

“Nothing to apologize for,” Kyle assured him, smiling back. “Again, I just have to get used to this whole… friends thing.”

“So we’ll work on that,” Dan shrugged, as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

And, somehow, it felt like it would be.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my [Bastille tumblr](https://bastilles-lesbian.tumblr.com/), and please review if you liked this and want to see more!


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